Packing or obturating material.



; w. man, or

8 fiber-containi I PHILADELPHIA, ImmVm=ASSIGNOB 1'0 SUGAR CANE :BY-PBODUGTS 00., OF PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION 01 DELA- wnm.

I o Drawing;

To all whom it camera;

r we Be it known that 1, MARK WOBBNOP Mans- ;nnn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of "Philadelphia, in the county of 5 Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Packing or Obturating Material, of which the following is a specification.

' The object of my invention is to provide an inex nsive and thoroughly reliable packing or filling material, which is non-conducting and non-inflammable, and useful for packing and insulating the walls of refrigerators, refrigerator cars and cold storage plants, or as a padding for carpet linings,

or to protect the interior of vessels against damage from water caused by the rupture of projectiles or collisions.

After many experiments and tests with different raw materials I have discovered that ha asse or su ar cane after the expression of 256 sugar uices, when treated in accordance with my presentinvention, renders a material which is cheap and otherwise advantageous and adapted to function as hereinbefore mentioned. In practising the invention the hagasse is subjected to the action of heat to evaporate or otherwise dispel the moisture content and 80 to loosen the pith or cellular tissue from the outer shell or bark. I find that the center of the cane is ractically devoid of fiber and is composed o pith in a state of almost pure cellulose. The se aration of this from the ell or bark is facilitated y commmu mg e e1 during its presence in the drier. The ith (s); ulo being much lighter' than' EEe' I e or rous portion may readily be sepa- 40 'rated therefrom by: screening and blowing liln any suitable or well-known manner. product is then treated in any suitable man- 7 -ner to eliminate the extractive, which may, i

' JAG'KIIG OB OB'I'URLTIHG IA'IEBIAL.

. of Letters Patent.

#Applicaflol fledlarch 17, 1814. leriallormfin. w 5

er prior to or :ramnma Feb. 1, 1916.

if desired, be recovered in useful form so as tomake the method self-sustaining.

If desired the product may be bleached .by resorting to any of the usual bleaching processes. It is then dried and may be used either in its loose or flocculent state or it may be pressed or molded into the desired 60 shape; and if desired any suitable bonding material may be added to facilitate the pressing and molding.

In order to apply the product to the purposes Ihave mentioned I prefer to chemically treat it so as to render it non-inflammable. This may be accomplished, for exam 1e, by saturatingjthe product either in its oose state, or after sheeting, blockin or otherwise shaping it, with solutions 0 sal I :ammoniac, sulfate of zinc, sulfate of ma 11 6518 in combination with or without silica 01mm Some of these produce good resu ts alone or in combination with others.

It is evident from the foregoing that by my method of treatment I recover and make capable of manifold industrial usesa material that was heretofore wasted.

Having described the nature and object of the invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

The herein-described durable and non-rotting packing or obtura-ting material consisting of bagasse primarily deprived of its residual sugar and other fermentable bodies -and separated from its fiber bearing shell or bark and combined with a chemical designed to render it non-inflammable.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

-':.-MARK W. MARSDEN.

NVitnessesz' j E. W..-'.Srnam,

FRANK Salaam, 

